Effectiveness of dynamic muscle training, relaxation training, or ordinary activity for chronic neck pain: randomised controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of dynamic muscle training and relaxation training for chronic neck pain. DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Five occupational healthcare centres, Tampere, Finland. PARTICIPANTS: 393 female office workers (mean age 45 years) with chronic non-specific neck pain randomly assigned to 12 weeks of dynamic muscle training (n = 135) or relaxation training (n = 128), plus one week of reinforcement training six months after baseline; or ordinary activity (control group; n = 130). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Change in intensity of neck pain at three, six, and 12 months. RESULTS: No significant difference was found in neck pain between the groups at follow up. However, the range of motion for cervical rotation and lateral flexion increased more in the training groups than in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Dynamic muscle training and relaxation training do not lead to better improvements in neck pain compared with ordinary activity.